Men's Basketball: Ohio Northern (5-2 Overall, 3-0 OAC) at John Carroll (6-1 Overall, 2-1 OAC)

Saturday, December 16, 2017, 2 pm - Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center, University Heights, Ohio

Saturday's Game: The Ohio Northern men's basketball team will return to action on Saturday afternoon as it travels to University Heights to take on the John Carroll Blue Streaks ... The Polar Bears enter Saturday afternoon's matchup after defeating Mount Union 86-82 at the ONU Sports Center to move into first place in the Ohio Athletic Conference standings ... ONU is currently riding a 3-game winning streak ... Senior Nate Burger currently leads the team and ranks second in the OAC with 24.9 points per game, while junior Ryan Bruns ranks second on the team and third in the OAC with 21.9 ppg ... Burger ranks eighth in the nation in scoring per game ... Senior Joey DiOrio is also averaging double-figures with 13.7 points per contest, while freshman Brandon Waugh is fourth on the team with 10.6 ppg ... Bruns currently leads the team and ranks third in the OAC with 8.2 rebounds per contest ... The junior has four double-doubles this season ... Waugh currently leads the team and OAC, shooting .583 from 3-point range ... Burger's 46 assists this season ranks first on the team and in the OAC ... The senior also ranks eighth nationally with 6.6 assists per contest ... Bruns currently leads the team and OAC and ranks ninth in the OAC with 22 blocks ... In his career Bruns' 146 blocks ranks third all-time at ONU and is 12 blocks shy of tying former Polar Bear Jeff Eyl for second all-time ... JCU enters the contest after defeating nationally-ranked Marietta 93-82 ... Offensively, the Blue Streaks have six players averaging double-figures ... Senior Matthew Csuhran currently leads the way with 18.3 points per contest, while senior John Cirillo ranks second with 14.1 ppg ... Sophomore Jimmy Berger currently leads the team and ranks second in the OAC with 36 assists ... The sophomore also leads the team and is tied for first in the conference with 18 steals ... Senior Matthew Csuhran currently leads the team with 5.4 rebounds per game.

Ohio Northern Probable Starters:

G - #12 Nate Burger, Sr., (24.9 ppg, 21 3FG, 46 Ast)
G - #5 Austin Allemeier, So., (4.0 ppg, 14 Ast, 5 Stls)
F - #22 Joey DiOrio, Sr., (13.7 ppg, .511 3FG, 5.7 rpg)
F - #1 Brandon Waugh, Fr. (10.6 ppg, 12 Stls, 12 Ast)
C - #21 Ryan Bruns, Sr. (21.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 22 Blocks)

ONU Returning Statistical Leaders:

All-Time Series: Ohio Northern leads the all-time series between the two schools by a 36-29 margin ... The teams split the season series a season ago ... JCU has won four of the last five matchups.

ONU head coach Rich Bensman: Bensman is in his second season at ONU with a 21-12 record, a winning percentage of .636.